10 Iconic Wrestling Images That Show History Repeating

Jul 30, 2020 July 30th, 2020

1. The Ratings War

Eric Bischoff being a bit of an arsehole — WWE Network

Eric Bischoff wasn't so much on top of the world as he was in total control of it when he borrowed a fan sign to gloat in full frame about how easy things appeared for WCW in 1997.

A loaded shot of 'Easy E' living his best life stands up to 2020 scrutiny too. Raw fears ratings more than ever before, wishing it could pull numbers like WWE managed right around the time this moment was captured.

The company at large are being bombarded with viewership failures beyond the state of the former flagship as well - SmackDown has failed to even approach figures akin to the ones they drew for a star-laden Night One on Fox in October 2019, while NXT has lost the majority of Wednesday Night ratings wars to AEW since the nascent league hit the ground running the very same month.

When Bischoff flaunted the sign, WWE burst forth from the slump and made him suffer for his arrogance. This may be the one bit of history in this shot they simply can't repeat.

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1. I Consider Myself An Authority On Drinking Beer.

Eric Bischoff

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Michael Hamflett

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett

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